Blood of the Roses
by powderyblue
Summary: A Callie Briggs fanfic.


Hi. This is the slightly edited version of my first fanfic which I posted to the Swat Kats Fanfic Archive @ http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/8850/fanfic.htm. I really would like to write more Callie fics, so please R&R and let me know so I can improve for next time. :) Until then, enjoy!   
  
*DISCLAIMER* Swat Kats, characters, likeness, etc. are copyrighted property of Hanna-Barbera/Turner Inc./Cartoon Network/Satan/whatever. Everything else is my creation.  
  
"Blood of the Roses"   
  
"Well, that's the last of it," shouted Calico Briggs loudly to no one in particular as she struggled to set the last of her moving boxes down on the wooden porch. Unfortunately, she lived up to her nickname as Clumsy Callie by dropping it on her already sore right foot. As she sat on the step to rub it, she remembered the one good thing about living in Megakat City: a masseuse spa on almost every corner. Still, she was proud of all she accomplished in the past two weeks. For one thing, she could have called her garage mechanics Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson for help, and saved a lot of time. That is, if she wanted to. She rented a moving truck, packed as many things as she could carry, and transported them to the truck. She then drove 25 miles up the coast through the pine forest on those treacherous backroads, missing the shrouded private roadway to the top of the cliff 3 times. And then she unloaded her goods and carried them herself to the porch. It admittedly took a lot longer, but it was done. She was also proud of the fact that she was about to make some changes. If something were to happen to Mayor Manx (not that she wished for it), she would become the new mayor, meaning more pressure for her. Then again, for as long as she could remember, she was always under some sort of pressure. Her mother, for starters, was "terribly displeased" at her career decision. She could not possibly understand why someone with Callie's looks and family name would want to work when she could find herself a "suitable husband". Plus, she was over 30 and her only child; who else was going to continue the Briggs heritage?  
  
Then there was Mayor Manx. She never revealed to anyone her true feelings about that incompetent bastard. While he was busy getting stuck in the rough at the golf course, she was the one who went to the meetings, filled out the forms, approved the funding for various programs, and completed various other tasks while taking care of her own personal responsibilities. It took ten terms for many of the citizens to realize how horrible living conditions had become ever since he stepped into office, and they clamored for her to run against him next year. Callie was actually flattered by this, but one person was standing in her way: Commander Feral. Her being an avid supporter of the Swat Kats would certainly clash with his dislike for those "reckless vigilantes", as he called them. The last thing she needed was another political conflict.  
  
Down below, the greenish-gray waves rushed to the rocks at its attempt to scale the cliff's walls, crashing when they could not grab hold of anything. Callie sighed deeply, as the sound of the water instantly calmed her down. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply for a few minutes. When she opened them, she found herself back on the porch. Then she looked towards the setting sun and said, "It's starting to get dark. I think I should go inside." She turned her attention to the house and recited the few facts given to her by her mother. It was a three-story wooden Victorian house, similar to the ones found in San Francisco. The residence was built in the late 1880s for the Blythes, the wealthiest family in the Megakat vicinity during that time. It was supposed to be the house for young Lavinia Blythe to reside in with her husband. However, the morning of the wedding revealed their mutilated bodies, along with the maid of honor. Understandably, no one wanted to live there. But for some reason, it became part of the Briggs estate during the early 1900s. The picture that Callie saw was of a cheery canary yellow gingerbread house with the famed rose garden of Blair Blythe still blooming. But that was 30 years ago. Now, the house showed its true age, with chipped shingles, rotten wooden boards, and patches of a depressing shade of steel blue all over. No amount of sunshine could make this house even pretend to be a little happy. There was a lot of work to be done, but Callie was up to it. When she finally found her key, she made a mental note to call a professional painter in the morning.  
  
When the door was unlocked, no words could find their way onto her tongue. She expected something atrocious, but found a rose-colored wonderland instead. The house was fully furnished, combining the best of modern luxuries with the decadence of the late 19th century. From the incredibly plush couches and seats in the parlor to the elegant dining room, it was everything that Callie wanted, even in her favorite colors. Callie walked into the simple kitchen, and was astonished to find a telephone, a dishwasher, and a refrigerator. What century was she in?  
  
"Mother must have been in charge of this," she concluded. "I must call her and get to the bottom of this." But there was no dial tone when she picked up the phone.  
  
After briefly musing over the cost of reinstalling a telephone wire, Callie went back to the main lobby, looking for some light, discovering only rose-scented candles. She lighted as many as she could, then made her way to the attic to find any other remnants of what this house used to be. Fifteen minutes later, Callie went back downstairs to the parlor to look at her findings; all contained in a medium-sized wooden chest with the name Lavinia engraved on it. When it was finally opened, it seemed as if she were fully immersed in 1887 Megakat society. It was filled with little trinkets, delicate calling cards, lace doilies, things a young girl would collect. She dug a little deeper and found a pink picture album brimming with stops on the timeline of Lavinia, from a rambunctious five-year-old to a stunning 17-year-old woman with hair that went straight down her back. The most intriguing picture was of a tall young kat with an arrogant grin escorting two ladies down the stairs. To his right was Lavinia, and to his left was another young lady who looked a lot like Callie. Attached to the picture was a note that read:  
  
"Dearest Lavvie: Thank you so much for this reminder of how happy I shall be when you and Cal are finally one in love and partnership. I know that you have waited so long for this moment, ever since you danced with him 6 years ago in Madame Fleur's courtyard. It fills my heart with joy when I think about how close it is to the day. Please have a safe trip when you return from Paris, and please, send my love to Uncle Alexander and Aunt Blair. With all my heart, Elizabeth"  
  
Callie smiled to herself, wondering if she could plagiarize from this note in case any of her friends decided to tie themselves down with the burden of marriage. Then she dug even deeper, finding another picture of Lavinia wearing a beautiful pearl choker with a diamond as large as her tiny fist in the center. Then there was one of her trying various dresses on. Yet she could not find any pictures of the wedding. Once Callie remember why, she slapped her forehead, hoping not to find any traces of blood on a wall.  
  
Callie was extremely tired by this time, and she needed to be refreshed for the morning's tasks. She lit another candle, walked upstairs to her rose-colored bedroom, changed into a simple pajama set, and went to sleep. A few hours later, her door handle was being shaken, causing Callie to stir from her sleep and frighten her. Was she being robbed? She had no time to sit around, so she grabbed an iron candleholder and hid in the closet. The lock on the door turned, and the door opened. It was Cal, the kat in the picture in a burgundy silk robe over his nightwear, holding a crimson rose and a black velvet case. Callie came out of the closet, utterly confused.  
  
"Is this some sort of a dream?" she asked herself as he advanced towards her.  
  
"I hope I didn't frighten you, Lizzie," said Cal breathlessly. "Have you forgotten that you were going to come to me tonight?"  
  
"Come to you? What - what is this?"  
  
"Don't you remember?" said Cal with an arrogant smirk on his face. "You said that you couldn't possibly wait to see me for one last time before the wedding. And don't worry about Lavinia. That sow is too busy snoring upstairs."  
  
Cal started to embrace Callie, but she pushed him away.  
  
"Listen, jerk. First of all, I'm not Elizabeth. And secondly, how dare you do this to your fianc, the night before your wedding! Don't you realize how much she loves you?"  
  
"Love? Maybe she has feelings for me, but is she so naive that she actually thinks I love her?" he snickered. "You know how rich Lavinia is going to be when she turns 21 next year. If something were to happen to her during the marriage, I will become the richest and most powerful kat in all of North America! And it's you," he cooed tenderly as he took her hand, giving her the rose, "that I want at my side. I would never dream of having children with that stupid idiot."  
  
"I see."  
  
Both Callie and Cal turned their heads to find Lavinia, standing at the doorway calmly.  
  
"I never thought the day would arrive when my best friends - or at least those who I thought were my friends - would break my heart like this."  
  
Cal was the one to step forward towards her in order to take her right hand. "Listen, Cheri, it's not what it looks like."  
  
And he fell to the floor. In her left hand was a small revolver.  
  
"I never liked the sound of your pretentious voice anyway."  
  
With tears streaming down her face, Lavinia took the black case from Cal's limp hand and opened it. It was the pearl choker found in the picture.  
  
"This was my wedding present," she said a little more softly. Then she put it back into the case and shot at it. Then she turned to a petrified Callie, with even more tears flowing like rivers.  
  
"Please give my regards to Calvin while both of your souls burn in hell."   
  
Callie suddenly became superhuman. She kicked the gun out of Lavinia's hand, and it fell to the floor. Both of them scrambled for it, but Callie grabbed it first, and threw it out the window. That sent Lavinia into a rage found only in the Devil himself, and she lunged at Callie, who sidestepped her attack, causing her assailant to fall to the floor. Callie went downstairs, looking for her purse for one special reason: to call the Swat Kats. Normally, she would only use her pager for extreme emergencies, such as Dr. Viper trying to turn the city into a giant swamp. But in this case, they were her only hope, as the Enforcers would probably get her killed. She found a safe place to hide in the parlor, and activated her beeper.  
  
"Swat Kats, Swat Kats, this is Callie! Can you hear me? Oh, dammit, can you hear me?" she whispered frantically into the beeper.  
  
"Yes, Ms. Briggs, what's the problem?" She was relieved to hear T-Bone's voice coming through.   
  
"There's someone trying to kill me, and I don't know what I should do!"   
  
"Just lay low and stay calm until we get there. Where are you, Ms. Briggs?"   
  
As she was about to answer, Lavinia silently walked down the stairs, her entire body translucent, her eyes burning red. She momentarily disappeared, then reappeared right in front of Callie. The last thing T-Bone heard from his headset was a bone-chilling scream.   
  
"Ms. Briggs? Ms. Briggs!"  
  
  
A few moments later, T-Bone and Razor arrived at the house on their motorcycle. Luckily, Callie's pager had a tracking device in it, so they wouldn't have to search the entire Megakat district. By this time, it was the dead of night, and that made the house even more depressing. The sight of it made both of them queasy, but their friend was in there, and she might still be alive. They adjusted their weapons, and burst into the door. The first thing they saw was a tall blond figure standing by the doorway. Razor went up to her and said, "Callie - I mean Ms. Briggs? Are you alright?"   
  
"I'm afraid I'm not the one you're looking for," said the figure sadly, and she turned to them. She looked to be normal at first, but her eyes were cut out, a hand was missing, and blood was all over her nightgown. Neither T-Bone nor Razor could hold conceal their horrified reactions.   
  
"My name is Elizabeth Fangley, and this was the house of my best friend Lavinia Blythe - or at least is was a hundred years ago. The reason why I'm like this is because I betrayed her friendship. When she caught me with her fiance, the night before the wedding, I lost her forever to insanity. She did away with both of us before she killed herself. Now our souls are perpetually restless, and that is why no one lived in this house ever since. And now..."   
  
She paused for a moment, as she was about to cry. When she regained her composure, she continued.  
  
"The only way your friend can be saved is if Lavinia and I reconcile. Please, you must believe me. Her life depends on it!"  
  
Before T-Bone and Razor could say anything, Elizabeth faded away and so did they. They reappeared in a rose garden, filled with every single type of rose known to man or kat. It was very easy for one to get intoxicated by the various scents and delicious flavors of these flowers. One particular scent caught Razor's attention, and he recognized it instantly. Wherever that scent was, Callie was nearby.   
  
"This way!" he exclaimed. T-Bone and Elizabeth followed him. However, as the smell got stronger, it became entwined with another, more sinister scent. Blood. They ran even faster.  
  
The trio finally reached the source of scents. They hid behind a giant bush, and when they peeked through it, they saw Callie hanging on a trellis with thick rose thorns stuck inside her entire body. T-Bone, to put it very lightly, was enraged, yet saddened, and was on the verge of killing somebody himself. While Razor physically tried to hold his partner down, Elizabeth whispered, "T-Bone, I know what you're thinking. But you and the rest of us are going to have to keep calm, just as you had told her."  
  
"What the-how did you know -?"   
  
"Never mind that. Just know that Lavinia's presence is surrounding her, and harsh words will only make it worse. It's time for me to talk to her." With that, Elizabeth came from behind the rose bush and stood out in the open.   
  
"Lavinia," she trembled, "I'm not here to justify any of my actions or Cal's. I am here to ask for your forgiveness. I cannot possibly express to you how sorry I am and how much you mean to me. But what you are doing to her is wrong. The fact that she and Cal are of the same blood does not give you the right to do this."   
  
Even with all the pain she was going through, Callie heard this clearly.   
  
"Can't you see how your rage is eating you alive? If you continue to go on like this, you will be like this forever. Please, let both our souls finally rest. At the very least, let me take her place."   
  
With that, the ghostly form of Lavinia appeared and the thorns fell out of Callie. After she was gently laid on the ground, the Swat Kats ran to her and held her. The only words she could think to say were "Hey,   
guys." Then she closed her eyes.   
  
  
The telephone rang. After its last ring, Callie sluggishly awakened to find herself in her old Megakat City apartment. There was no house, no ghosts, no Swat Kats. Finally, it was over. Her TV was still on and she got up to turn it off. Right before she did, the voiceover announced: "We now return to Holler 5: The Last Revenge." It was that stupid 24-hour horror movie marathon on MBC! As far as she was concerned, Chance was never going to touch her remote again. Period.  
  
After the TV was off, she went back into the bed and took her glasses off. She put them next to the book she was reading, The Blythes: Glory and Downfall. That would also be the last time she read anything right before bedtime. Now that everything was back to normal, Callie settled back in her bed and started dozing off. A few seconds later, she felt something prick her on the back of her leg. She reached into her covers to get it out, and when she pulled back out, she held a large, sharp rose thorn in her hand.   



End file.
